


Trust Fall

by Bookworm1063



Series: Not So Rotten [4]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookworm1063/pseuds/Bookworm1063
Summary: “You didn’t answer my question,” Uma said. “Why this guy?”It was true, Jay thought, that he barely knew Carlos. But he thought of the way Carlos smiled, and blushed, and how Jay was always disappointed if Carlos hadn’t walked in that day.“I don’t know,” Jay said. “He’s cute, I guess.”Jay wasn't expecting to fall for the guy he met at Starbucks. Carlos is amazing, but he has a painful past. How will their relationship look in the future?
Relationships: Evie & Jay (Disney), Jay & Mal (Disney), Jay & Uma (Disney), Jay/Carlos de Vil
Series: Not So Rotten [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1516289
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	Trust Fall

**Author's Note:**

> tw: Discussion of past abuse and a character with scars. I tried not to make it too graphic, but please don't read if this is something that will hurt you.

Working in a Starbucks wouldn’t have been Jay’s first choice, but the pay was decent, and at least he was working with friends.

Harry was leaning against the counter where the completed orders were left for customers to pick up, texting. Freddie was bustling around him, preparing drinks, making everyone else look and feel lazy.

Then the cute boy walked in.

Jay hadn’t actually seen him enter the Starbucks, but there he was, standing at the counter, credit card in hand, wearing a red sweatshirt. His hair was white, black at the roots, and a single loose curl fell over his forehead. “Hi. Can I get a tall mocha frappuccino- actually, make that two tall mocha frappuccinos- and a brownie, and a slice of pumpkin bread?” 

Jay was still processing the appearance of a cute boy in his Starbucks. He blinked a few times, shook his head, got his brain back online, and said, “Sure. Can I have a name for your order?”

“Carlos,” the boy said. Jay punched it in and headed back to the counter to make the drinks. Carlos moved down to the pickup counter, looking at something on his phone.

Jay was seriously thinking about writing his phone number on the side of one of the drinks, except Carlos had ordered enough food for two, and Jay didn’t know who he was here with.

“Thanks,” Carlos said, reaching across the counter to take the food and drinks from Jay. “Oh, gosh-” He fumbled one of the cups, and Jay leaned across the counter to steady it.

“Oh. Um. Thank you,” Carlos said. Jay winked.

“No problem.”

Carlos blushed, which Jay figured had to be a good sign.

Jay watched Carlos make his way back across the Starbucks, to a table in the corner, where a pretty blue-haired girl was sitting. Carlos slid in next to her and passed her a frappuccino.

_Dammit_.

Jay turned to the next customer, putting Carlos out of his mind.

o-o-o-o-o

Carlos kept coming back.

At least once a week, he’d show up and order the exact same thing. Usually, he was with the blue-haired girl, but once or twice Jay had seen him with a different young woman, one who always wore the same purple-and-green hoodie.

The thing was, Carlos was cute, and he always thanked Jay for the food, and he blushed every time he made eye contact with Jay. Jay didn’t think he’d exchanged more than ten sentences with the guy, but apparently that was enough.

“Seriously, mate,” Harry said. They were closing up for the night, and Carlos and his blue-haired maybe-girlfriend had just left. “Make a move.”

Jay shook his head. “You did see the girl, right?”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “She’s not bad-looking.”

“Whose side are you on?” Jay threw his hands up, accidentally flinging a soapy sponge at Freddie. She caught it and set it back on the counter, glaring at him.

“I call it like I see it,” Harry said. “She’s hot. But I don’t think she’s the girlfriend.”

“What makes you say that?” Freddie didn’t look up from the table she was scrubbing.

“I’ve never seen them do anything… couple-y. You know. Cuddling, kissing, whatever.”

Jay sighed. They weren’t going to give it up. And if Harry was this invested, he’d have Uma and Mal bothering him about it, too.

“Fine. I’ll talk to him,” Jay said. “Happy?”

Freddie rolled her eyes. “Never.”

o-o-o-o-o

The next time Carlos came in, Jay shoved Harry out of the way of the cash register.

“Mate,” Harry started, then caught sight of Carlos. “Ohhhh. Good luck.” He winked and disappeared into the back.

“Hi,” Carlos said.

“Hey.” Jay started punching in his order. “The usual?”

“Yeah.”

Jay scanned the rest of the Starbucks. Sure enough, the blue haired girl was sitting in their usual booth.

“Who’s that girl you’re always here with?” Jay asked. “Your girlfriend?”

Carlos glanced behind himself, surprise written across his face. Then he laughed.

“You mean Evie? God, no. She’s my _sister_.”

Jay’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Of course.”

Jay laughed. He couldn’t help it. Carlos tipped his head to the side in confusion.

“Is that a good thing?”

“I hope so,” Jay said. Carlos blushed.

Jay winked and moved away to the counter. He grabbed a Sharpie from the drawer and scribbled his number on one of the cups.

A few minutes later, Carlos glanced up from his table. He was blushing again.

o-o-o-o-o

“What do you like about him so much? Do you even know him?” Uma threw herself down on the sofa next to Jay.

“I mean,” Jay said. “I know his Starbucks order.”

“That’s creepy,” Mal pointed out. She was sitting cross-legged on the coffee table across from him, looking at something on her phone.

“I literally _work at Starbucks_ , Mal. I know most of the regular’s orders.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Uma said. “Why this guy?”

It was true, Jay thought, that he barely knew Carlos. But he thought of the way Carlos smiled, and blushed, and how Jay was always disappointed if Carlos hadn’t walked in that day.

“I don’t know,” Jay said. “He’s cute, I guess.”

o-o-o-o-o

Carlos didn’t call that day, or the next. He didn’t come to the Starbucks, either.

Jay had almost given up hope when the phone rang. He was in the shower, rinsing the soap out of his long hair. The door connecting the bathroom to his bedroom was open, and his phone was sitting on the desk next to the bathroom door. When it rang, Jay stumbled out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, and snatched the phone off the desk.

“Hello?”

_“Please do not hang up the phone. We’re calling to inform you that your credit card number-”_

Jay hung up and tossed the phone onto his bed. “Telemarketers,” he growled, and went back into the bathroom.

He’d just finished showering when the phone rang again.

“Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying.”

“Oh,” someone said. “Um. Sorry, what?”

“Oh shit,” Jay said. “Carlos. I thought you were a telemarketer.”

“No,” Carlos said. “I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to… to go out. Sometime.”

“Like a date?” Jay asked.

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “Like a date.”

Jay grinned, remembered that Carlos couldn’t see him, and kept grinning. “When were you thinking?” 

“Oh.” Carlos sounded shocked; Jay wondered if he’d been expecting Jay to say no. “Does… Friday night work?”

“Sure.” It looked like movie night with Mal and Uma was cancelled.

“Okay. I’ll meet you at the Starbucks,” Carlos said.

“See you then.” Jay had no plans to hang up first. For a moment, it was just the sound of their breathing over the line.

“Okay,” Carlos said finally, and hung up.

o-o-o-o-o

Jay met Carlos outside of the Starbucks on Friday night. He was wearing his nicest leather jacket, jeans that had been artfully ripped at the knees, and his favorite beanie.

Carlos’s face lit up in a grin when he saw Jay.

“What?” Jay asked. “Did you think I wouldn’t show?”

Carlos shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I’m the one who gave you my number.”

“I’ve been ghosted before, though.” Carlos forced out a quick laugh. “Let’s go.” 

Carlos led the way down the street. Jay spent the first five minutes wracking his brain for something clever to say, and the next two trying to convince himself to reach out and take Carlos’s hand.

“Here,” Carlos said.

They were standing outside of a strip mall. Jay knew the place; his father bought most of his groceries here. There were a few fast food restaurants, a hair salon, and a couple of other, smaller stores.

“Back here.” Carlos led the way past the hair salon and around a corner. Jay had never been back here before. They passed a pet store, a psychic’s supply shop, and stopped in front of the last door.

Jay was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open. “How did I not know this was here? How did you know?”

Carlos shrugged. “My older sister used to work in the pet store. She told me about it when it opened, like, five years ago.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Jay shook his head. “You’re telling me there’s been a VR place down the street from where I work for _five years_?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy-” Jay cut himself off. “Okay. Let’s just go in.”

o-o-o-o-o

“That was not fair,” Jay said. “You _shot me_.”

Jay and Carlos were sitting at a table outside of the Dominos in the strip map, plowing their way through a pizza. Carlos took another bite of his slice and rolled his eyes.

“You were in my way.”

“I was not!”

“You were. And besides, if I hadn’t shot you, that sniper would have. You were dead either way.”

“I knew what I was doing.”

Carlos scoffed. “No, you didn’t.”

Jay was fairly good at most video games. He had no problem beating Mal or Uma, on the rare occasion he could convince either of them to play. But Carlos was on a whole other level. Jay hated to admit it, but Carlos was probably right.

Jay had never played with someone as good at gaming as Carlos seemed to be. He was pretty sure he was falling in love.

Jay’s phone buzzed. He ignored it.

Carlos checked his watch. “Oh. I’m sorry. I promised my mom I’d help with her show tonight. I need to go. But, um…” Carlos glanced up. He had the longest eyelashes Jay had ever seen. It was ridiculous. “I’d like to go out with you again.”

“Yeah,” Jay said. “Me too.” He coughed. “I can walk you to your car.”

“Sure,” Carlos said. He picked up the empty pizza box and tossed it in the trash can behind him. “It’s back at the Starbucks.”

They walked in silence, holding hands this time. Jay was wondering if it was too soon to ask for a kiss.

Carlos stopped next to an old, navy blue minivan. “This is mine.”

“Your mom’s?”

Carlos cringed. “Yeah.”

Jay wasn’t judging. He still drove his dad’s old car, and it broke down every other week.

“So,” Jay said. “I guess this is goodnight.” 

Carlos nodded. “Would it be okay… I mean, can I kiss you?”

Jay nodded. “Yeah, you can.”

Carlos had to reach up on his toes, and Jay had to bend down, but they made it work. Carlos stretched up just enough to wrap his arms around Jay’s neck, and they kissed in the parking lot for a few minutes.

Eventually, Carlos stepped back, and Jay just stood there. For once in his life, he had no idea what to say.

“Wow,” Carlos said. “Okay.”

Jay nodded.

“I’ll see you, um…” Carlos ducked into his car, smiled, and drove out of the parking lot.

Jay shook his head, trying to clear it. He reached into his pocket for his keys, and his phone toppled out. He caught it just before it hit the concrete.

He had a series text from Mal, in their group chat with Uma.

**_Chaotic Disaster Bisexuals_ **

_Mal:_ So, Jay

_Mal:_ How’s the date

_Mal:_ Answer your phone

_Mal_ : Are you in love yet?

Jay rolled his eyes and texted back.

_Jay:_ It’s been one date calm down

o-o-o-o-o

At this point, Jay was wondering what the catch was. Carlos was basically the most perfect person ever.

They had been on three more dates since the first, and if Jay was being honest, they were some of the best dates he’d ever been on. Carlos was funny, and kind, and was interested in a lot of the same things Jay was. Even when Carlos started going on about computers, Jay was just happy to watch him talk, to watch his cheeks flush and his eyes light up. And whenever Jay got going on sports, Carlos would look at him the same way, like he had no idea what Jay was talking about, but he still wanted to listen.

Jay pulled his car up to the curb outside Carlos’s house. It was covered in blue siding, and the path to the front door was lined with colorful flowers. It was at least four times the size of the apartment Jay shared with his father.

Jay yanked the parking brake up, and heard something in the engine pop.

He was probably walking home.

Jay stepped out of the car and started up the front walk. The door was also blue, a few shades darker than the rest of the house. He knocked three times.

The girl who opened the door didn’t look anything like Carlos, but Jay recognized her anyway. She was the girl from the Starbucks, with the blue hair. Jay had never spoken to her, but he’d heard a lot from Carlos.

“Evie, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” Evie said. Up close, Jay noticed her eyes, which were rimmed in red, and her cheeks, which were flushed. She’d been crying, which immediately made Jay feel slightly awkward.

“Are you… okay?” Jay asked.

“What? Of course. Sorry, I’m going through a breakup. You’re Jay, right?” Evie asked. “Carlos’s boyfriend.”

“I- yeah, I guess so.” He and Carlos hadn’t really talked about that yet, but he knew he didn’t want to admit that to Carlos’s sister. “Is he here?”

“Yeah. You can come in,” Evie said, stepping out of the way. “I’ll get him.”

Jay followed Evie into the house. She closed the door behind him, and as she did, Jay noticed a small, round scar on the side of her wrist.

Evie smiled. “I’ll be right back.” She disappeared up the stairs, and Jay took the opportunity to look around.

The front hall was a small square room, with a door on either side of Jay, and a hallway and staircase in front of him. The rest of the wall space was taken up with family photos.

There was Carlos and a black-haired girl who Jay assumed was Evie, arm in arm outside the house. An older woman waved from in front of an old-fashioned stove. Another girl, this one with red hair and black eyebrows, perched on the roof of a yellow punch buggy, wearing a university sweatshirt. Jay had never heard of the school.

Also, hair dye was apparently a thing in Carlos’s family.

As he looked around the walls, though, Jay started to notice something else.

There were plenty of baby pictures, and pictures of toddlers. Elementary school class photos. Family trips in which all the participants were no older than ten.

Carlos wasn’t in a single one of them.

Carlos’s hair was naturally white; he dyed the roots. There wasn’t a single white-haired kid in any of the older photos.

Jay scanned the walls again, more closely this time. The youngest version of Carlos must have been at least thirteen. He was standing in front of a building Jay recognized as Northern Wei Middle School, arm in arm with Evie.

“Hey,” someone said.

Jay spun around. Carlos was standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing a black, red, and white leather jacket with basketball shorts. Jay didn’t know anyone else who could have pulled that off.

“Hey,” he said.

Carlos glanced behind him, noting where Jay had been looking. “I’m guessing you noticed.”

“Sorry,” Jay said. “I didn’t think-”

“Oh, no,” Carlos said. “You didn’t do anything wrong. They’re pictures, on the wall in the room where you were asked to wait. I’m adopted. It’s not a secret.”

Jay blinked. “Oh. Okay.”

“Yeah,” Carlos said.

“So- wait, I don’t want to mess this up. What’s your sister’s last name?” Jay asked. “Is it de Vil?”

“No. My sisters and mother- they’re all Mills,” Carlos said.

“Right. So if I run into your mother, and I want to make a good first impression- she’s Ms. Mills.”

“Yes,” Carlos said. “Speaking of which, she’s in the kitchen, so if you’re coming upstairs, it needs to be now.”

Jay smirked. “What, no boys allowed in your room?”

“No boys,” Carlos confirmed. “That was literally my mother’s entire reaction when I came out. _Okay. No boys upstairs_.”

Jay laughed and followed Carlos up to the second floor. There were five doors off a long hallway; Carlos pointed them out as they passed.

“Behind us is my mother’s room,” he said. “On the left is the bathroom, the right is Snow’s room. Up there on the right is Evie’s. This one’s mine.” Carlos stopped in front of the last door on the left and opened it.

Carlos’s room looked exactly like Jay would have imagined. The twin-sized loft bed was pushed against the wall, covered with a red comforter, a red couch stuffed underneath. The desk was a mess, covered in books, journals, papers, and messy pencil cups. The closet door was open, revealing a tangled mess of clothes, mostly in red, white, and black. Posters for bands and video games covered the walls. There was a rainbow flag hanging over the bed. Carlos’s laptop was perched on top of a stack of textbooks on the nightstand, the screen displaying code Jay couldn’t hope to make sense of.

“Sorry,” Carlos said. “It’s a mess.”

Jay shrugged. “My room’s worse.”

“It doesn’t get much worse than this.” Carlos dropped down onto the sofa, swinging his legs over the side. His feet were bare; for some reason, it made Jay blush.

He sat down next to Carlos, trying not to think too much about where he was. “Evie said something interesting to me.”

“Oh, God,” Carlos groaned. “There are so many embarrassing stories she could tell. What was it?”

“She asked me if I was your boyfriend,” Jay said.

“Oh,” Carlos said. “Are you?”

“I hope so, because I told her I was.”

Carlos laughed. “Good.” He leaned over to kiss Jay.

Jay had kissed a few people, but none of them had been anything like kissing Carlos. Jay thought he could kiss Carlos forever and still not want to stop.

Carlos snaked his arms around Jay’s waist, pushing his hands up under Jay’s tee shirt. Jay shrugged out of his jacket and helped Carlos pull the shirt off, then pushed Carlos’s own jacket from his shoulders. His fingertips grazed the skin on Carlos’s upper back, raised and rough under his hands-

And then Carlos was on the other side of the room, dragging his jacket back on. Carlos always wore that jacket, or a hoodie, or long sleeves. Now Jay saw why.

Carlos’s arms were peppered with small, raised circles. Burn scars. And his back…

“Sorry,” Carlos murmured. “It’s not you.”

“No! No, don’t be sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

“I want to, though,” Carlos said. He crept back across the room and sat down next to Jay.

For a moment, the room was quiet. Carlos’s face was scrunched up into a frown.

“It’s a really long story,” Carlos said.

Jay shrugged. “I’ve got time.”

“Okay,” Carlos said. “Okay. This… only my mother and sisters know all of this, and some of my mom’s family. No one else.” Carlos took a deep breath.

o-o-o-o-o

_I grew up in this big old house on the Isle. It’s called Hell Hall, and it had been in the de Vil family for generations. By the time my biological mother, Cruella, was born, there wasn’t much money left, and the place was a ruin._

_Cruella had all these big plans- she wanted to be famous, and she wanted to have her own clothing line. She was a fashion designer, and she worked with Evie and Snow’s mom, Grimhilde, when we were five or six. Turns out, she was involved in all this illegal stuff, working with people who sold real fur for her designs on the black market. Apparently, the way the animals were treated before they were… skinned… was really horrible._

_My mother refused to work with Cruella after it all came out, and everything fell apart. Cruella’s big dreams, her plans to restore the de Vil name or whatever, everything. She was always tough to be around, but after that she snapped._

o-o-o-o-o

Carlos hesitated for a moment. “I want you to see,” he said. “Is that okay?”

Jay nodded.

Carlos shrugged off his jacket. His forearms were peppered with round, raised scars- burns from a cigarette, Jay realized. Carlos peeled off his tee shirt and turned around.

Jay forced himself not to gasp.

His back was striped with raised scars, still red in places. They formed long lines from Carlos’s shoulder blades to his waist.

Carlos yanked his tee shirt back on, and his jacket over it, and sat back down beside Jay. Jay held his hand out to Carlos.

Carlos took it, and held on tight.

o-o-o-o-o

_I don’t want to talk about all that, and I don’t think I need to explain what it was like. There were rules, and lists of chores, and if everything wasn’t done exactly the way she wanted it…_

_I ran into Evie again on the first day of seventh grade. We became friends again, and eventually Grimhilde realized there was something going on. I remember once, I was over here, and I ran out because I realized I was late getting back to Hell Hall. I think that was what tipped Grimhilde off, because a few days later, Evie showed up at my house._

_I still don’t know how she found me. She says she asked someone for directions, but I know her mother and sister had no idea she’d gone looking. I told her to go. My mother found us, and Evie tried to protect me. She has a scar like mine, on the inside of her wrist, which is honestly the thing I probably hate Cruella most for._

_The police showed up after that, and Child Protective Services. They took us to the station. I remember Snow was there, and that she and Evie were the only people I would let near me for a long time. Grimhilde adopted me, and Cruella went to jail, and I’ve been here ever since._

_o-o-o-o-o_

Jay didn’t think he’d made a sound since Carlos had started speaking. Now that he was done, Jay wasn’t sure what to say.

_Sorry_ had never felt like a more useless word.

“Carlos,” Jay said. “You are, without a doubt, the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

Carlos looked up at Jay, eyes wide.

“I mean it,” Jay said.

Carlos didn’t exactly smile, but one side of his mouth twitched up at the corner.

o-o-o-o-o

An hour later, Carlos walked Jay back to the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said.

“Yeah,” Jay said. “I guess I’ll have to meet your mom.”

Carlos nodded. “It’ll be fine. She’s great.”

“I know.” Jay leaned down and kissed Carlos lightly, then started down the path to the curb.

“Jay!”

When Jay turned around, Evie was standing on the porch.

She’d cleaned her face and fixed her makeup, and her hair was up in a high ponytail. She wore leggings, sneakers, and a tank top. Clearly, she was going for a run.

“Come here a second,” she said.

Jay walked back to the house, and stepped up onto the porch next to Evie. He couldn’t help it; his eyes flicked to her hand.

Evie noticed the movement, and her eyes narrowed. “He told you, didn’t he.”

“Yes.” 

Evie let out a long sigh. “Okay. That changes things.”

Jay was confused and a little scared. “How?”

“Because Carlos doesn’t just tell people about that. If he told you, he trusts you. It changes what I was going to say to you.”

Jay had to assume that was a good thing.

“I was going to tell you that my brother is complicated, and doesn’t always open up, and the bravest, most amazing person I know,” Evie said, “But you already know that. So I’ll tell you… he cares about you. Don’t screw it up.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Jay said.

“Oh, I know,” Evie said. “This part of my speech hasn’t changed- if you hurt him, I will find you online, and I will make sure you never get a date in Auradon, the Isle, or anywhere in a two-hundred-mile radius again. I will permanently fuck up your chances of getting any kind of decent job. I will get you expelled from Auradon’s public school system, and once I’ve done that, I will find you in person, and I will gloat. Are we clear?”

Jay wasn’t a little scared. He was terrified.

“We’re clear,” Jay said.

“Good. Oh, and Jay? Quick question, of a more… personal nature?” Evie was looking down at her sneakers now, kicking a rock back and forth across the wood.

“Yes?”

“How did you know? That you like girls? And guys, I guess, but mostly girls.”

Jay raised an eyebrow. That was not the question he’d been expecting. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been that. “How do you know I like girls?”

“You have a bisexual pride pin on your jacket.”

It was true. He did. Jay shrugged. “I don’t know. One of my best friends came out as bi, and after that I started thinking about it. Then I tried not to think about it anymore, and then it kind of became obvious. It helped that, like, none of my friends are straight. We went through it together.”

“Oh.” Evie still hadn’t looked up from her rock.

“Does that help?”

“Maybe,” Evie said. Finally, she met his eye and smiled. “I’ll get back to you on that. Thanks, though.”

“No problem. If you don’t mind me suggesting it, though, you could talk to Carlos about this.”

“Maybe,” Evie said again. “I’ll see you around, Jay.”

“Yeah,” Jay said. “You, too.”

Evie and Jay walked side by side down to the curb, where Jay got into his car, and Evie set off jogging down the sidewalk.

It took Jay five minutes to get his car started, and when the engine finally did rev to life, it was rattling in a way that really concerned him. He was going to have to look at that later.

Jay pulled away from the curb, still thinking about everything he had heard that day, from Carlos and from Evie.

It didn’t change anything, Jay thought, and also it changed everything.

o-o-o-o-o

**Eight months later**

“This is a crazy idea,” Jay said.

He was leaning against the counter of Ursula’s Fish ‘n’ chips, the coffee shop that Uma’s mother owned. Uma was behind the counter, not working.

“It’s not crazy. Mal is miserable. She keeps moping around my basement, crushing on her exes- not me- and making it really difficult for Harry and Gil to sneak in.”

Jay was momentarily distracted. “What does Gil need to sneak in for? He’s ace.”

“Yeah, and my mother doesn’t trust men. Any of them. Anyway, you say Carlos’s sister is hot-”

“You’re the one who said that. I’m not allowed to think she’s hot. I’m dating her brother. It’d be weird.” 

“Fair enough. Is it that she’s straight?”

“Um,” Jay said. He still hadn’t forgotten his conversation with Evie, but neither of them had ever mentioned it again. If Evie knew, she hadn’t told him, and Carlos hadn’t said anything either.

“Probably not, but closeted,” Uma translated. “Got it. Well, it doesn’t have to be a date. Just please, for the love of God, get Mal out of my basement.”

Jay threw his hands up. “Fine. I’ll ask Carlos.”

Uma raised her eyebrows.

“You want me to call him- here? Now?”

“Yes. If you don’t, you won’t say anything later, because you think this is stupid.”

Jay sighed and fished his phone out of his pocket. Carlos picked up on the first ring.

“Hi.”

“Hi, babe,” Jay said. “Uma has a crazy plan that she wants me to share with you.”

“Sure.” Carlos did not sound nearly as concerned as Jay thought he should.

“Okay. So, Uma wants to set Mal and Evie up on a blind-date type thing.”

“I’m sorry, Uma wants to do what now?”

“You remember Mal.”

“Let’s see.” Carlos sounded like he was laughing. It was probably kind of at Jay’s expense, but he loved Carlos’s laugh, so he couldn’t be mad about it. “Maleficent Bertha Erebus, better known as _scary dragon girl_ by literally everyone I’ve talked to- the one with the purple hair and combat boots, who I see at least once a week because you two are practically joined at the hip? No idea who she is.”

“Yeah. Her. And your sister. On a date.”

For a moment, there was silence over the line. Jay switched the phone to speaker, so Uma could hear.

“I know it’s a bad idea-”

“Are you kidding? It’s a great idea.”

“What?” Jay almost dropped the phone. “Listen, I do not want to get involved in your sister’s love life. You weren’t there when she warned me about breaking your heart.”

“I’ll take the blame if this blows up in anyone’s face.”

“No, Uma will take the blame-” Uma stuck out her tongue.

“Relax, you two. It’ll be fine,” she said.

“Okay,” Jay said, resigned. “Then I guess we’re doing this.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Uma cried. “I’m getting my basement back. I can spend time with my boyfriends, without my best friend fourth-wheeling. Carlos, I love you.”

“Gay and taken, sorry,” Carlos said. “Anyway, Evie’s free on Wednesday. I’m sending her down to Ursula’s Fish ‘n’ Chips at two.”

“Mal will be there,” Jay said. He couldn’t lie; he thought this would be good for his friend. She _had_ been spending a little too much time pinning over her exes lately. It was making things awkward with Freddie.

And as much as she scared him, Jay hoped this would be good for Evie, too.

“You’re coming over later, right?” Carlos asked. “The house will be empty.”

“Take that off speaker,” Uma snapped. “Right now. I don’t need to hear it. Go literally anywhere else to finish that conversation. I know where this is going. I wish I didn’t, but I do. Get lost, Jay.”

Jay took the phone off speaker. “You’re the worst, Uma.”

“I know,” she said.

Jay walked out of the café, still on the phone with Carlos. “I have to go,” he said. “I need to concentrate on getting to your place before my car falls apart.”

“See you soon,” Carlos said.

Jay hung up and climbed into the driver’s seat of his car. Before he left, though, he opened the photos app on his phone and found one he’d taken of Carlos and Evie, laughing on the sofa in their living room. He cropped it down to just Evie’s face and texted it to Mal.

A moment later, his phone rang. Jay answered it.

“Who’s the hot girl?” Mal demanded.

“A friend of a friend,” Jay said mysteriously. “She’s going to be at Ursula’s at two on Wednesday. I don’t think she’s out, but it might be a date, if you’re interested.”

There was a brief pause.

“Uma wants me out of her basement, doesn’t she.”

“Yeah, she really does,” Jay admitted.

“Fine,” Mal said. “I’ll go meet the hot girl- does she have a name? I feel bad if I just call her _the hot girl_.”

“Evie,” Jay said.

“Evie,” Mal repeated. “I swear, if you and Uma are up to something-”

“We’re not,” Jay interrupted. “You know Uma’s ulterior motive. And we’re both worried about you.”

“Ugh,” Mal said. “You are so sappy since you fell in love.”

Jay blinked. Right. That thing he hadn’t actually told Carlos yet.

Mal sighed. “Go. Tell. Him.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re going to chicken out. I can feel it.”

“Maybe.” Jay hung up and put the car in gear. 


End file.
